National Book Critics Circle president John Freeman presented a wonderful list of books that everyone should have the pleasure of reading and re-reading, but he made one glaring error. No part of Mikhail Bulgakov’s wondrous novel, “The Master and Margarita” takes place in Poland. Not only is the story set in Moscow and other parts of the Soviet Union, but the city itself and the entire Soviet state can be seen as major characters of the book. To accidentally place any part of “The Master and Margarita” in Poland is akin to misplacing parts of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” in England. Fortunately for Mr. Freeman, Bulgakov had a great sense of humor, so rather than turning over in his grave or cursing the modern-day editor, he’s probably having a good chuckle at this embarrassing error.

Vincent Carroll is The Denver Post's editorial page editor. He has been writing commentary on politics and public policy in Colorado since 1982 and was originally with the Rocky Mountain News, where he was also editor of the editorial pages until that newspaper gave up the ghost in 2009.

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